Here are some facts and then maybe someone can show me where i'm not understanding correctly.
To me "Faith alone" , makes no sense , and this is why.
1) Faith is pistis in the Greek and is the noun.
2) The corresponding verb to that noun in the Greek is pisteuo.
3) Pisteuo is an action word something we do ,as is the definition of a verb.
4) pisteuo in the Vines is defined as "A personal surrender to Him , and a life inspired by such surrender."
So are the "Faith alone" people saying that all we need to do is continually surrender ourselves to Christ in mind and deed ? Because that would make perfect sense to me.
Do they have scripture that they base their statements on?
For us to receive anything from God their are several things we must do. One of them is to believe, specifically, God's word. We must know from God's word what God will do and not do.
Our job is to believe. Faith is something God imparts to the believers in this age of grace, it was not available before this age of grace. The KJV translators often translated pistis as believing and faith interchangeably. Without getting into a study that is more than I am willing to offer, look at Galatians 3
But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
There was a time that faith was not available, for it is the faith of Jesus Christ. People could believe before that but faith first became available on the day of Pentecost.
Briefly, faith is the entire package of what Jesus Christ made available to us. It includes the gift of eternal life/holy spirit/righteousness/salvation and the doctrine, reproof and correction that teaches us how to live it (by believing it)
Similarly, Romans 5:1 We were justified by faith, should that be translated faith or believing? further down it says were justified by his blood, therefore it is not our believing that we were justified but by what Jesus Christ did.
However, as stated above, we receive God's benefits and promises by our believing. In order to receive that justification which God provided for us by the blood of His son, we do or have done Romans 10:9 by which we immediately receive the gift of salvation.
God in Christ does all the heavy lifting, we simply believe to receive.